If there are such things as athletes who make you feel good, you must count Nate Behar at the top of the list.

A feel-good atmosphere surrounds the 22-year-old receiver like his big hands surround a football. The feeling was in full bloom Sunday when the London native and Carleton Raven was selected fifth overall by the Edmonton Eskimos in the Canadian Football League draft.

The Eskimos got not only a talented pass catcher but also someone who down the line will grow into the role of a dressing room leader.

But that’s then. This is now and the now is a young man who is thrilled to be picked by the Eskimos and just to be playing the game.

Behar had a ton of fun on draft day, hitting social media in a variety of ways to document what was a memorable day for him.

Behar was one of the most highly recruited players coming out of high school. He became one of the first players to commit to the reborn Ravens program four years ago. He's become the first Raven from that rebirth to be drafted to a CFL team.

“It was fun,” Behar said. “You never really know how things are going to play out, especially some things as unpredictable as the CFL draft. I’m just excited it worked out that way.

“It’s bizarre because there is so much variance. I had people texting me this and texting me that. ‘I heard this and I heard that,’ they were saying and eventually I said, 'I’m talking a nap guys.’ It’s a topic you have no control over.”

The 6-foot, 200-pounder has been the Ravens' leading receiver every year except the first season. He had 178 catches for 2,577 yards and 21 touchdowns. That’s great production considering the first few years the Ravens were beaten up by most teams in Ontario university football.

Behar had 57 catches for 788 yards and nine touchdowns, second best in the country last season.

The Central high school grad still has one year of university football eligibility left should he not make the Eskimos, but his focus is on playing professionally.

One day after the draft Behar was busy reviewing films of the Eskimo games.

“I plan to get through all the games from a player standpoint before I get to camp. I’ll break it down my way,” Behar said.

It’s the way Behar rolls. He’s bright, works hard and is driven.

“It never seemed like (hard work) to me,” he said. “Third-party people will tell you, ‘Wow, you are working real hard,' but it doesn’t seem like that to me. It’s about what you want to do, how hard you want to work. You just kind of do it.

“I’ll never forget it, as corny as it is, a stupid Tim Tebow quote (former Heisman Trophy winner) that I heard in high school: ‘You just have to ask yourself at the end of the day, at the end of every workout, are you the hardest-working player at your position in the country? If you’re not, then you are deciding not to be the best.’ ”

Behar, who is already in great shape, is going to spend the time before training camp getting into even better shape.

“(Edmonton head coach Jason Moss) runs a high-tempo, no-huddle offence, so I have to be in the best shape of my life,” Behar said. “I have to make sure my muscular endurance is up, my aerobic capacity is up, so I can go through four-hour practices in training camp. They like to run competitive practices. I am used to playing eight games; now they play 18 games. It’s going to be quite the job.”

But it’s the job Behar wants. It’s all part of the joy he tries to find every day when he wakes up. His attitude is infectious.

“It’s so amazing,” he said. “I can let stuff dissolve away and just focus on football. That’s the best part of it being a job. There’s the corny saying that if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life. That’s a fact here. It couldn’t be more applicable. I’m so excited I get to focus on this, focus on what I love and love what I do.”